Tehran: Iran has publicly hanged a man
convicted of repeated armed robbery and fighting police in a
village in the central province of Markazi, the hardline
Kayhan newspaper reported on Sunday.
Provincial judiciary chief Hekmat Ali Mozaffari said
the man, whose name was not given, was executed yesterday in
Mousa Abad village where he had operated an armed gang, the
paper reported.
The man was also found guilty of "Moharebe" (waging
war against God) through armed resistance to the security
forces, Mozaffari said. The offence is punishable by death
under Iran`s penal code.
The website of Markazi`s judiciary department
meanwhile also reported the hangings of two men found guilty
of drug trafficking in the province. They were executed in
prison in the city of Arak in April, it said.
Possession of more than 30 grams of narcotics is
punishable by death in Iran, as are murder, rape, armed
robbery and adultery.
In late April, the judiciary website of Fars province
reported hangings of four people in two separate executions,
one of whom was found guilty of committing eight murders.
The other three were hanged in the southern city of
Shiraz after being convicted for "armed robbery and
kidnapping" as well as killing two policemen.
The latest hangings bring to 108 the number of
executions reported in Iran so far in 2011, according to a news agency count based on media reports. Iranian media reported 179
hangings last year.
In 2009, the Islamic republic executed 388 people,
according to international human rights groups, making it
second only to China in the number of people it put to death.
Iran says the death penalty is essential to maintain
law and order, and that it is applied only after exhaustive
judicial proceedings.
PTI
